NEW YORK, NY - MAY 02: Jacoby Ellsbury #22 of the New York Yankees drives in a run with a single in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays during their game at Yankee Stadium on May 2, 2014 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 477582727

The number of tickets sold at Yankee Stadium through 13 home dates is up nearly 10 percent from the same point a year ago, according to data compiled on baseball-reference.com. The figure is 41,418.

The YES Network is having an even stronger rebound from a desultory 2013, which suggests that fans have gone back to their televisions to watch the retooled Yankees at an even faster rate than they have snapped up tickets. So far, each game on YES has attracted an average of 341,000 viewers, which is up 38 percent over the same period last year.

For the Yankees, their fans' restored affection in the first month of the 2014 season comes after an injury-marred 2013 campaign that concluded with the team's missing out on the postseason for the second time in 19 years. Injuries limited Jeter to 17 games, Mark Teixeira to 15, Alex Rodriguez to 44 and Curtis Granderson to 61.

The Yankees who were healthy in 2013 — a group that included such modest players as Lyle Overbay, Zoilo Almonte, Luis Cruz, Ben Francisco and Brennan Boesch — overachieved, putting together a respectable 85-77 record, but still, the star power was missing. For the full season, the number of tickets sold fell 7.4 percent and YES' viewership tumbled 31 percent.

But now the Yankees have Tanaka, who is 3-0 in the major leagues after a remarkable 24-0 record in Japan last season. The longer that unbeaten streak goes, the more buzz he will create for the team and the more he will presumably help ratings and attendance on the days he pitches.

And if Jeter stays healthy and plays reasonably well, his final season before retirement is likely to be a magnet for fans, particularly as he moves closer to the end.

As for the Mets, the number of tickets sold through 16 dates is up 3.4 percent to 27,058 a game, a nice lift after a steady decline in attendance since the team moved into Citi Field in 2009. Still, the number of viewers on SNY has fallen 4 percent to 180,000 a game.

Because the disparity between tickets sold and the number of people who seem to be present in the ballpark is sometimes glaring, TV ratings might be a more accurate measurement of fan interest.